You left my name off why?

Obama/Elenchos '08

Where my girl janet napolitano at?

Why is there no "none of the above" option?

Edwards has said several times that he won't accept a Veep nom.

Kathleen Sebelius.

How do I write in Mike Gravel?

Can I give a negative vote to Sam Nunn?

C'mon, people, Edwards/Clinton/Richardson are the top vote getters so far? Obama needs his veep choice to counter McCain's military record and experience, connect with southern (white, gun-loving) voters, and be content not being the center of attention (I doubt that Clinton would be content in that role). With that in mind, Jim Webb is the perfect choice. (And after that, maybe elenchos.)

After months and months of insisting that non-candidate Al Gore was included in The Stranger's Democratic primary polling, you now exclude him from the VP spot?

Kerry? is one percent of the slog criminally retarded?

John McCain FTW!!!

@9
Yes. Margin of error 99%.

@9 - Maybe they think we need the stiffest white guy on the planet to counter Obama's scary fist bumping and shoulder brushing.

@9
Yes. Margin of error +/-99%.

Where is Chuck Hagel at?

Richardson? Seriously? That homophobic brown-noser (no racist pun intended) shouldn't be anywhere near the VP spot. He's a dick and he's unqualified.

Not that a VP ever matters unless there's an assassination (knock on wood).

All the Hillary as VP people are living in la-la land. It is over for her for now. Sorry to break this to you, but it is.

Schweitzer, Napolitano, Richardson.

NO SENATORS! You want to get 60 plus, don't you?

If Jim Webb becomes VP, we might lose that Senate seat. And you know what? I don't want to risk it.

Certainly Brian Schweitzer would be on that list before say... John Kerry. Odd omission.

Really? Just 2 women on the list, one Hillary Clinton? Who in God's name has suggested that Rhode Island liberal Jack Reed is a logical pick for Obama? Who the hell is James Jones?

My top 2 picks are Janet Napolitano and Claire McCaskill.

It's going to be Sebelius. Take note! I will stake my oh-so-valuable Internet reputation on it!

I think that Janet Napolitano would be terrific, but I am betting that they don't want to deal with the lesbian rumors (coupled with the Obama Muslim slurs). She is a single woman, which I don't think would bode well for her in many red states. Schweitzer, yes. Also Sebelius.

Christine Gregoire?

EVAN BAYH!!!!

Where's Al Gore?

Oh well, I voted for Sibelius ...

James Earl Jones!
James Earl Jones!
James Earl Jones!

What about Nancy Pelosi?

My ballot is rigged - Blackberry Curve is the only option :(

Jack Reed would be perfect for hiding in undisclosed locations, since it's virtually all he does in his lackluster Senate career, but otherwise he'd be just about the worst pick of all.

Evan Bayh is the winner pretty much everywhere except geographically. He's got tons of experience -- legislative and executive -- and is a dyed in the wool Clintonista that would effectively reach out to the Hillary crowd without having to go through the discomfort of actually placing her on the ticket. The fact that Bayh is a boring white midwesterner ought not be an issue with smooth-talking Obama as the headliner, plus his centrism might help Obama reach out to swing voters.

Speaking as an undecided voter who doesn't get what's so great about Obama, having Bayh on the ticket would go a long way towards courting my vote. It would certainly alleviate concerns about Obama's inexperience and overly-liberal voting record.

@24 Yes! Evan is the best pick!
don't hold old Dan Quayle against him - he's smart as a whip. His Dad, Birch was pioneer of fuel alts a long time ago.
Good political family! Gov's and Senator's
Evan works on lots of the war commitees with Lugar and is very bi-part. good to be on the ticket so he can assert his bi-part knowledge in that area when McCain starts spouting off.

@27 bet he picks KS too. good comp between Hil and a woman.

Whenever I see the words "speaking as an undecided voter" I know the next thing I'm going to read is unabashed partisan bullshit.

Jim Webb is the perfect choice

Well, almost perfect IMHO. Like 18 notes, losing a democrat senate seat from VA is tough. He would be AWESOME as VP, but I can't decide if it would be worth losing that seat. One democrat winning a VA Senate seat is incredible, two in a row would take a miracle.

I like Richardson. I'm pleasantly surprised he is second only to The Hill.

McCaskill would be great too (I voted for her in '06!), but again, we need all the seats we can get...

Claire McCaskill, Bayh, Richardson, Webb. Best choices.

I'd pick Feingold, as I have said ad nauseum in the comments. But since I couldn't, I picked Bloomberg.

Hillary as Obama's VP would be like a bad community theater production of Richard III.

Particularly when you consider Bill would be back in the White House.

Sherrod Brown

I have to vote out of self interest here.

Richardson FTW!

You've omitted my fav... Caroline Kennedy.

Hillary: I would say no, too many bad things have already happened.

Richardson: No, he'd be better off as Secretary of State. And sorry, 2 minorities will scare off voters in racist swing state (I truly am sorry, but you know it's true).

Webb: We'd lose a senate seat. The nothing gets through. Yay! So we can wait 2 years for full control while Obama gets hosed for "not getting things done". No thanks.

Kathleen whoiswhatsit: All the personality and charisma of Kerry. but worse. And a woman. When she spoke after the state of the union, I was like "omfg shut up you ignorant cow". Sorry but I was. And I love me some Dems.

Ugh. Those are the top? Ya'll realize we can lose right? This isn't in the bag. He needs someone amazing for the VP slot.

What a bizarre list. Who came up with these names?

John Kerry? Seriously? The man who lost as president against Bush should now be VP? I can't see how this possibly helps Obama in any way. Nor can I see Kerry accepting such a position.

Joe Biden? Who never broke 5% in the primaries? How does this help?

I can see the Hillary temptation, given her legion of followers (give her credit for losing to Obama by less than 1%). But tactically I think this would be a mistake.

Sam Nunn is an unmitigated asswipe. I'll never forgive him for DADT. There are some other really stupid names on that list too.

Obama needs a VP that will shore up votes where he is weak, or that might help carry a critical state him might lose otherwise. The four smartest choices are John Edwards (who has repeatedly said he's not interested), Bill Richardson, Wesley Clark, and Jim Webb.

What about Robert Reich out of left field? Now THAT would throw people for a loop!

We need a ranked order version so we can vote for three choices ... Sibelius, Richardson, Dodd, and Gore ... (counts on fingers) ... um, four choices.

I like a lot of those names, but Richardson's the only one that fits and makes sense for lots of reasons. Richardson is undeniably VP material.

awesome points @ 29. wish I'd said that!

I will fall over dead if it's an Obama/Bayh ticket.
I've been saying I'd love to see those 2 on the ticket ever since I saw OHB speak at the DNC comvention and he made me cry my eyes out.

Not Wesley Clark!

Wesley Clark is perfect. He cancels out the "lacks military experience" line of attack.

I won't be a woman. Picking a woman would just look like a concession and have people asking why he just didn't just pick Hillary and all the votes she got.

Richardson practically fell asleep during the Democratic debates. He'll get something, just not VP.

Edwards already said no.

Kerry has the stink of loser on him.

Evan Bayh looks good, but having both candidates from the same state is too risky.

Biden and Webb are both good choices, but (the risk of) giving up a Democratic seat would hurt.

I'm going to go with Wesley Clark. Experienced, respected, he's got that silver fox thing going on, and he's a teeny-tiny bit Jewish. He covers up all of Obama's weak points. Plus, he'd appeal to the knee-jerk, Fox news watching patriots, what with his chest full of medals.

One argument for Bill Nelson:

The state of Florida fucking loves him, and with him on the ticket, I really think it could swing the entire election in our favor.

He's in favor of stem cell research, he's pro-choice, anti-war, and against a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

Yeah, he's done some things I don't agree with, but I really think he's the best choice.

JC - glad to hear you're not going thru with the sex change ....

Yeah, yeah... I saw that, too late. :)

no prob - hey, anyone else notice Hils is losing to Bill Richardson?

Wow, that must sting ...

No Senators. Absolutely not. NO SENATORS. Either a governor, or out of left field.

Veep DOES matter, since you're pretty much anointing a successor (assuming he wins). It's gotta be someone who helps Obama take more states, and who is a plausible presidential candidate eight years from now.

Personally I dig Schweitzer, even though his boner for coal scares me; but I like ranching types from Montana viscerally, and I think a lot of other voters do too. Sebelius isn't there yet. Evan Bayh is a great pick; he's a senator, but he's been a governor too. I remember his daddy well.

A couple weeks ago I was convinced it would be Chuck Hagel - my top pick now is Schweitzer with Hagel in a top cabinet post.

Two problems with Webb - he's a loose cannon and a real risk to make a 'mistake' in front media (i.e. being brutally honest) - the other I think is a deal breaker - they can't loose a Senator. I think the Dem strategy is to play it safe in the senate until 2010 when they have a real shot at 60+ in the senate.

Claire McCaskill please (yes, yes, I know, she's a senator)

Get a testosterone-soaked military guy as #2.

(1) Clark. I gave him money last time, but he didn't seem to catch on. If not Clark, then...

(2) Webb. SENATORS DON'T HAVE TO GIVE UP THEIR SENATE SEATS TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT OR VICE-PRESIDENT. Duh. If not Webb, then...

(3) elenchos

Obama/Dodd kind of rhymes with Islamabad. I'd love to see Ann Coulter's reaction.

Arnold Schwarzenegger. At the very least, Obama's name would be the second most foreign sounding on the ticket.

Terrific list! Joe Biden by an inch over several well-qualified others: Irish Catholic, Pennsylvania born (Scranton, just like HRC), excellent campaigner, knows Iraq and foreign affairs cold, great personal story, totally vetted. See E.J. Dionne's Washington Post column this week. Dionne writes, the politicos listen.

Runners up: Chris Dodd, Sam Nunn, Ed Rendell, Kathy Sebelius, Mark Warner.

Mike Bloomberg, my choice for President, doesn't balance well with Obama on the ticket. Barack should make definitely make him Treasury Secretary and Economic Czar.

Gen. Jones is intriguing but we don't know enough about him yet.

Jim Webb and Brian Schweitzer are great politicians but quirky, prone to weird remarks and behavior that the press would seize on and detract from Obama.

Rule #1 in the veep sweepstakes: Anyone but Hillary! Patty and Chris before Hillary. My sister before Hillary. Maria....well, maybe not Maria.

@55,

He'll have to give it up if Obama wins. Although the current governor of Virginia is a D, so, at the very least, Webb's immediate replacement will be a Democrat.

@57,

Unconstitutional.

@54, McCaskill said she wouldn't run as Veep two days ago.

Bill Richardson is winning? Seriously, people? I suspect he's getting votes just because people want Horatio Sanz back on SNL impersonating him.

But truly, Richardson would be an awful choice.

"Richardson would be an awful choice."

In your opinion. I think he'd be a terrific VP.

kesh@59:

Ahhhhhh. Gotcha. Still think a strong addition to the ticket is worth one seat in the Senate. Especially since we will hopefully gain seats this year (suck it, Norm Coleman.)

But I'd rather have Clark. Biden would be good too. I've seen Richardson speak in person, and he's hyper-bright, but he didn't do well in the debates, did he?

I don't think Hills should be the Veep choice. Even with Bill on best behavior, it would be a weird dynamic. With Bill in his latest incarnation, well, it would be catastrophic for Obama.

Michelle Obama...give First Ladies a REAL job.

Whoever's willing to prove their loyalty by taking out Joe Lieberman.

@47--Evan Bayh is from Indiana, not Illinois.

the job of VP is not to draw in voters who would otherwise vote for the opponent - it's to kick ass on Capitol Hill. A Washington insider is best. Dodd, Hegel, Biden would GRD.

I'd prefer not a senator, though.

Wes Clark is an HRC supporter, a Fox News commentator, handsome, white, old, & retired military. There is no downside beyond him not having much experience being a junkyard dog on Capitol Hill. That's compensated for by his appeal to straight old white ladies who liked Charlie Rich.

Napolitano ate the carpet right off the floor of the Arizona capitol building.

That said, she rocks, and it's a shame a lezz-bean can't be elected.

I started a Draft Claire for Governor in which we had over 75 team captains statewide in 2003. She instead became a US Senator two years later. Claire McCaskill was a prosecutor in Kansas City, a single mom while serving as state representative for 3 terms and then a State Auditor. Her knowledge of local, state, and Federal levels of governments and how they work is extremely important. There has likely never been a vice presidential candidate which such a record of service.

She has become known as a center of the road legislator fighting for anti ear mark legislation and an accountability office for expenditures on the war. What she is most noticed for is that she has a pulse of the people that comes naturally and speaks out for the people when something is not in their best interest concerning government or important issues. Yes two inspiring candidates who bring out the best in people on the ticket sound real good.

Steven L. Reed
1441 South Estate Ave.
Springfield MO
stevenlloydreed@hotmail.com